Bomber Boys

The Boeing B-17 "Flying Fortress" and B-24 "Flying Boxcar" dropped more than a million tons of bombs over Nazi targets in Europe from 1942 to 1945. Missions to the oil fields of Romania and the rail yards and Messerschmidt plants of Germany targeted the Nazi war machine and its ability to make war.

But, these missions weren't without a price. The young bomber boys would fly their aircraft through skies thick with anti-aircraft fire, called flak, and the dreaded German fighters of the Luftwaffe.

If their plane was downed, they usually faced two options: death or capture. Almost half of those who took off from bases in England, North Africa, and Italy didn't make it back. You'll hear the riveting story of a 21-year-old pilot named George McGovern who crashed his plane three times and lived to become part of our history.

In this exciting podcast of "War Stories with Oliver North", you'll learn about the story of the other front line... the skies over Europe. This is where the pilots, navigators, gunners and bombardiers of the Army Air Corps stared death in the face on every mission they flew.